| Uncle Kracker - No Stranger to Shame |
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| Music Disc Reviews Audio CD | ||||||||||||||||||
| Written by Dan MacIntosh | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tuesday, 24 September 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||
“Keep It Comin’” is the kickin’ hip-hop track that opens this new Uncle Kracker release, and the title cut (“No Stranger To Shame”) closes this CD with a little more of that urban flavoring. But these cuts are actually nothing more than stylistic red herrings. Instead, Southern R&B -- like “Memphis Soul Song” -- is much more representative of the kinds of toppings this uncle likes to spread on his crackers. The song “I Do,” in fact, goes for the whole enchilada, with honking horns and all the trimmings. Then a cover of Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away” addresses a much smoother side of the whole soul spectrum. Kracker also dips his hand into country rock on “To Think I Used To Love You,” and blues with “Thunderhead Hawkins.” This Kracker is a real musical snacker. Uncle Kracker is far more reflective than his partner in musical crime, Kid Rock, who would much rather party hearty all the time. Rock, by the way, is this project’s executive producer. Kracker sounds genuinely repentant on “Letter To My Daughters,” which apologizes to his young ones for spending too much time on the road during their developing years. He also waxes philosophical with “I Wish I Had A Dollar,” a song that thinks twice about some of the unwise advice he’s received over the years. He even sings a bit about romantic regrets with “Baby Don’t Cry” and “To Think I Used To Love You.” Producer Mike Bradford -- whose experience ranges from work with Anita Baker to producing Butthole Surfers -- gives Uncle Kracker a warm variety of organic soul rock sounds to sing over. And even though Uncle Kracker doesn’t have the vocal character of the singers he obviously idolizes, his sincerity wins over the listener in the end. Like Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker is a difficult case to categorize; he’s about as tough to cage as it would be to capture the alligator pictured on his new disc. He’s shamelessly punk in attitude, but he also does nothing to hide his more sensitive side. And just because he’s still young doesn’t mean that he can’t also play the good ol’ boy. He just likes to make music that feels good, and No Stranger To Shame is about as feel-good as it gets. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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